Author Alistair MacLean, whose action and war bestselling thrillers served as popular movie fodder from the late 1950s through the 1970s, adapted his own novel for 1975's Breakheart Pass, shifting his successful formula to the Old West. Here, a troop transport train traveling through the Rockies to a military outpost that is in the grip of a diphtheria epidemic is beset with mysterious deaths, outright murders, and a conspiracy that seems to envelop every passenger. Charles Bronson stars as John Deakin, a wanted man who is taken prisoner while on board, while Richard Crenna is territorial Governor Fairchild, who travels in his own private car and is personally overseeing the secret mission. But Deakin actually turns out to be an undercover Secret Service agent on a case, and he uncovers a complicated plot involving stolen guns, smuggled dynamite, and an alliance between a dangerous criminal and the local Indian tribe. The clever storyline boasts plenty of action and some impressive set pieces, but the plotting is often lazy—for example, giving “prisoner” Deakin unfettered access to all parts of the train without supervision. Director Tom Gries displays fine attention to detail, from the vivid winter landscape of the Rocky Mountains to the physical effort it takes to run a 19th-century railroad engine. The impressive supporting cast includes Ben Johnson, Charles Durning, Ed Lauter, and Jill Ireland. Fans of Bronson (and Westerns with unusual twists) are likely to enjoy this engaging film. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)
[Blu-ray Review—Nov. 4, 2021—Kino Lorber, 95 min., PG, Blu-ray: $29.95—Making its Blu-ray debut, Breakheart Pass (1975) features a fine transfer and extras including an audio commentary by film historians Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell, and Nathaniel Thompson. Bottom line: one of action star Charles Bronson’s more entertaining ‘70s films.]